No Makeup? No, Thanks!

There’s a new trend surfacing in Hollywood, and this time it’s not naked selfies — it’s naked faces.

Alicia Keys is the leading bare face behind this #nomakeup movement, and multiple celebrities are joining in. The general idea is that they need it to feel good about themselves.

Makeup doesn’t have to be something that gives or takes away self-confidence.

Keys started the trend in May this year when she penned an essay on liberal Lena Dunham’s Lenny Letter site, explaining the decision to discontinue makeup.

“‘Cause I don’t want to cover up anymore. Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing,” Keys wrote.

The letter garnered lots of attention in the celebrity world, and Keys has stayed true to her promise, posing with a clean face for her new single, “In Common,” and performing at the Democratic National Convention completely makeup-free.

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Similarly, Mila Kunis recently posed for the August edition of Glamour with a makeup-free shot on the back cover. She also came down hard on the idea of photoshopped pictures, which can significantly alter a person, taking away their real identity. (Of course, there were plenty of other glamour shots of her with makeup, too, including the front cover.)

While some say this is a way of empowering women — to let the world know that makeup isn’t needed to be beautiful — plenty say it’s not necessary to be makeup-free to feel powerful. More than one person has said over the years, “I refuse to leave the house without my makeup on.” 

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“Makeup shaming has become a huge problem in society,” blogger Holly Blaha noted on The Odyssey website in January. There’s just way too much finger-pointing going on, she said.

Besides, what’s wrong with makeup? A study done in 2011 found women who wear makeup are seen to be more likable, competent, and trustworthy than those who enter the workplace with a bare face.

The study incorporated pictures of women of different backgrounds wearing four different looks — bare, natural, professional, and glamorous. Their likability and competence were rated more highly when they wore a little something. For many women, in fact, it helps them feel more comfortable about themselves.

And, frankly, people like makeup.

Consumers like it so much that revenue from the U.S cosmetic industry is estimated to be around $62 billion in 2016, according to The Statistics Portal. 

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And in a somewhat two-faced move, many celebrities are tending toward this more natural look while also still relying heavily on cosmetics to achieve it. Makeup companies have responded with new lines of lighter foundations and natural lipsticks to give the appearance of no makeup, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Society has decided that part of being a star means looking great — just think of all the stars who are still happily wearing makeup. We don’t see them without it. Many of the celebrities who are choosing to go makeup-free frequently already meet the beauty standards. The pictures they post show flawless skin, beautiful bodies, and an attractiveness that is only barely enhanced by makeup application.

No matter what you think of a makeup-free face, makeup has been an integral part of the culture since its creation in Ancient Egypt — and the cosmetic industry continues to thrive worldwide.